The Tiers of Solar Panel Efficiency

To simplify solar efficiency further, we have divided all modules into 5 tiers based on their efficiency compared to all other solar panels. Now installers and consumers can easily communicate about panel efficiency per area.

Are the solar panels in the most efficient tier (Tier 1) or do they have average efficiency (Tier 3)? If modules are in the least efficient tier (Tier 5), let’s hope they’re cheaper than the modules in the above-average tier (Tier 2).

You no longer have to worry about the 4-digit efficiency value and wonder what it means. Is 11.41 efficiency good, bad, or average? Now, you can simply consider the Tier ranking of the solar module. An 11.41 efficiency is Tier 3, so it’s average efficiency! That simply means it’s in the middle 20% of efficiency (40 -59%) compared to all eligible modules.

Tier 1 Efficiency modules are in the top 20% of efficiency of over 7,300 modules eligible for California solar incentives. They are more efficient than 80% of the other solar modules. They are basically the smart ones in the efficiency class.

Tier 2 modules are more efficient than 60% of all other modules, while Tier 3 have basically average efficiency. Tier 4 is below average and Tier 5 modules are in the bottom 20% in terms of efficiency per area.

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